Southern California Business Report Sept 9 25 Guest Sheriff Chad Bianco

Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:02):
Welcome to k e T fourteen ninety am ABC News
Radio in the Southern California Business Report with Evette Walker,
a show dedicated to highlighting successful Southern California businesses and
the people behind them.

Speaker 2 (00:18):
Welcome and thank you for joining Southern California Business Report
on ABC News and Talks k E T fourteen ninety AM,
ninety eight QUITMENTFM and k m e T TV. I'm
Thevet Walker Live blasting our sitting from the center of
Southern California, serving the population over twenty five million. Get
us crystal clear and on demand by downloading the Food

(00:39):
Live Streaming app on Google Play and the Apple App Store.
Also now available on iHeartMedia, Spotify, Spreaker, and many other
platforms you get your podcasts from. As always, a shout
out to the team mitche, Bill and Sean. I love
you guys, and to our special advisory committee that can
be found at ww UW dot SCBR Talk dot com,

(01:03):
Forward Slash Advisory Committee. Click on the link and learn
about the incredible leaders doing the work. And of course,
it is an absolute honor to introduce mister Chad Bianco,
who was born in nineteen sixty seven at Hill Air
Force Base, Utah and raised in a mining town as
the eldest of three boys. Instilled with values of integrity, perseverance,

(01:25):
and responsibility. He believes respect is arned through actions and character.
In nineteen eighty nine, Bianca moved to California. He graduated
at the top of his class from the San Bernardino
County Sheriff's Academy in nineteen ninety three and joined the
Riverside County Sheriff's Department, serving for over thirty one years.
Elected sheriff in twenty eighteen, Bianco addressed budget issues, increased staffing,

(01:50):
and rebuilt law enforcement partnerships. He led the department through
civil unrest and the pandemic, earning re election in twenty
twenty two. A strong advocate for public safety reform, Bianco
championed Proposition thirty six, which passed in twenty twenty four.
Outside work, he's a dedicated husband, father, and grandfather, active

(02:13):
in his church and community, and value faith, family and service.
Thank you so much for being with us today, Sheriff Bianco.

Speaker 3 (02:22):
Well, you're welcome. I truly appreciate being here, certainly.

Speaker 4 (02:25):
So as you know, Cheff, Well, first of all, I
want to thank you because the first time I've had
the opportunity to interview you, and I'm so grateful to
do that. But before we move forward, let's talk a
little bit about what inspired you to pursue your career
in law enforcement.

Speaker 3 (02:43):
Yeah, there wasn't one thing for sure.

Speaker 5 (02:46):
It was a multitude of issues, a multitude of problems,
a multitude of successes, and ultimately the realization that I.

Speaker 3 (02:57):
Came here in nineteen eighty nine to truly make a.

Speaker 5 (03:02):
Better life for me and my family, raise it, find
a family, raise a family, and truly.

Speaker 3 (03:08):
Reach that American dream.

Speaker 5 (03:09):
And from an outsider in California, what we all looked
at back then was.

Speaker 3 (03:13):
The California dream.

Speaker 5 (03:15):
If you were going to make it, make a life
for yourself, you went to California.

Speaker 3 (03:19):
To do it. And I did. I am very very
blessed I achieved it. I do.

Speaker 5 (03:26):
I did reach the California dream, and I love it here.
The problem with where we are today is I have
adult children and they do not have the same California
dream that I have.

Speaker 3 (03:39):
Actually, their California dream is unreachable.

Speaker 5 (03:43):
And the unfortunate part for millions of Californians is they
are looking at other states to find out where they
can reach their dream, and it's turning into the Florida dream,
or the Texas dream, where the Tennessee dream, the Idaho dream,
the Nevada dream, anywhere but Californifornia. And I realized the
battle that I was fighting for public safety in our

(04:05):
state capitol was the same battle that every other industry
in California was fighting. And we are not fighting Californians,
We're not fighting industry, We're not fighting anything other than
an absolute failed political agenda that has honestly ruined California

(04:26):
and made it the laughing stock end of the country.
And I got to a point where it was I
either need to join all my friends and the millions
of Californians that are leaving the state, or I have
to do something about it, and I have to fight
to make it possible for that California dream to be
achievable again. And ultimately that's why I'm doing this. It

(04:47):
has nothing to do for me.

Speaker 3 (04:48):
I'm good.

Speaker 5 (04:49):
This has everything to do for the rest of Californians
right now, and especially our younger generation that do not
have that same ability and that same chance for success
that I did.

Speaker 2 (05:02):
I understand what you're saying, so, let's step back in
time and talk about your tenure as sheriff and how
you were able to see, understand, and basically overcome so
many challenges that were facing law enforcement, especially during the
difficult time over the pandemic, when policies were looking possibly

(05:25):
to defund the police department and so forth. Talk about
the transformation that occurred as a result of you stepping
in as a sheriff. Let's start there. Please talk about
your first time being sheriff, the first time you were
elected as sheriff, and what you walked into and what

(05:49):
we see today.

Speaker 5 (05:52):
I walked into almost a disaster, and I kind of
knew that going in.

Speaker 3 (05:59):
That's the ultimate what led me to run.

Speaker 5 (06:02):
The description of why I told you I'm running for
governor was almost more different than why I was running
for sheriff. We had major budget problems, We had major
morale problems. People were leaving the department in droves. We
could not recruit. Our recruitment was horrible. Our retention was
even worse. The relationship we had with our constituents, with

(06:23):
the people that we were supposed to serve, was horrible.

Speaker 3 (06:26):
They didn't trust us. We were I can tell you.

Speaker 5 (06:28):
We were being dishonest with our constituents from our leadership
in our department, and we were not providing the best
service that we possibly could that government service for not
only the best for the cheapest cost, but for the
for the best service that we could possibly do. And
when I took office, it was actually a little bit

(06:49):
worse than what I thought, and we were roughly about
six hundred and fifty positions down. But through mismanagement of
our of our funding, of our resources, that was really
the cause of it. And we did a complete rehaul
restructure of our financial system, within the within the organization.

(07:12):
I made some major major changes in our administration, and
we slowly went to rebuilding the not only the actual
infrastructure of our department, but that perception that was that
right now allows us to be almost the only law
enforcement agency in the country that does not have a

(07:35):
retention or a hiring problem.

Speaker 3 (07:37):
We our academies are full.

Speaker 5 (07:39):
We have our retention problem is based on California now,
and our employees are either retiring earlier or quitting all
together and moving their family out of state. But taking
over and completely changing the culture of our department.

Speaker 3 (07:57):
To be one of what we are are new.

Speaker 5 (08:00):
Motto at the time was there was service above self,
and it truly is.

Speaker 3 (08:04):
We're in a profession of service.

Speaker 5 (08:06):
We are public servants and we provide a valuable resource
to our community in safety.

Speaker 3 (08:13):
And we have.

Speaker 5 (08:14):
Gone from almost near disaster, near collapse of an agency
itself to one of the most respected law enforcement agencies
in the country. And it really was because of everything
that happened, not only those things I've mentioned, but in
the beginning, we not only went through the riots of

(08:35):
twenty twenty, but we had a pandemic in twenty twenty
and those things. As a brand new sheriff in a
large agency or it was a big issue to not
only handle, but to overcome successfully.

Speaker 3 (08:49):
And we came through with shining colors, and.

Speaker 5 (08:52):
That really did really catapult us on the national stage
and particularly me and my name on the next stage
because of our response to COVID, because of our response
to the riots, and it's been nothing but success since then.

Speaker 2 (09:07):
Sheriff, can you give us a brief overview of what
that restructuring and streamlining process looks like, because, as we know,
with any organization, when you're talking about cost expenses, revenue budgets, financials,
there is a lot that goes into it, but having
that streamline process and creating a sustainable model from something

(09:30):
that was dysfunctional. Talk about what that process looked like,
maybe from you know, an ABC standpoint. I'm sure there
was so much involved, but if you could give us
just a broad idea of what that restructuring process entailed,
that would be terrific.

Speaker 3 (09:46):
Yeah.

Speaker 5 (09:48):
The biggest thing, the biggest cost issue that we that
we dealt with, and it was a personnel issue. As
a business or as especially as a government entity, personnel
costs or your number one driver of a expenses. And
I had realized long ago, and there were many others
I did, this wasn't I was just the leader that

(10:08):
made this happen, made this fix happen, and directed the
end result. But we had about probably about eight hundred
employees that were really what I would say now working
out of class, so that they were doing the same
job as another class of employee, but we're getting paid

(10:32):
substantially more.

Speaker 3 (10:34):
And when an easy explanation of.

Speaker 5 (10:36):
That is we had patrol deputies that were working inside
the jail, and patrol deputies, your cost for them is
a lot more. They get paid more because they have
a different role and a different responsibility out fighting crime
compared to managing and operating our jail system. But yet

(10:57):
we had those patrol deputies, those expense to patrol deputies
that were actually working in our general system, and I
completely eliminated that. So there was roughly around six hundred
to seven hundred employees that we got outside of the jail.
We transferred them back to patrol where they belonged. We
replaced them with correctional deputies. That saved roughly about fifteen

(11:18):
to eighteen million dollars per year in just salary savings.
So just that structure alone was massive. But then we
went far further and technology really to make our jobs easier, quicker,
more efficient, that we didn't have to have as many

(11:39):
employees as we actually had. We could use technology to
make our jobs easier.

Speaker 3 (11:44):
We used in the patrol environment.

Speaker 5 (11:47):
We went from having deputy sheriffs handling calls that did
not really require a deputy sheriff, to completely restructuring that
procedure to having non sworn employees that work at a
fraction of the cost of a full edged deputy sheriff.
So the amount of millions that we saved per year.
Have truly just been astonishing to the other government entities

(12:11):
are county government officials, because they assumed that that was
just the normal cost of doing business. But we showed
that we could streamline and get far more bang for
our buck than what we had. We have completely remodeled
county business on how we do our maintenance to our buildings,
how we do our new constructions to some of our buildings,

(12:31):
and some of our outstructures that we have within the organization.
That has saved millions on each project.

Speaker 3 (12:39):
Just by finding I don't.

Speaker 5 (12:41):
Want to call them loopholes in the law, but they
were a different culture in the law really that no
one really knew about.

Speaker 3 (12:47):
It was just business as usual in the county.

Speaker 5 (12:50):
But we came up with these just different way of
doing things that we're saving millions in my seven years
is the sheriff. I'll be eighty years as a sheriff
by the time people start.

Speaker 3 (13:02):
Voting for me.

Speaker 5 (13:03):
But in the seven years of being sheriff, I've saved
all over one hundred million dollars that the county has
allowed me to reinvest into the department.

Speaker 3 (13:11):
And right now we.

Speaker 5 (13:12):
Have one of the most technologically advanced, most well equipped
law enforcement staff in the country, and it allows us
not only with the with the tools that we have,
but I'm sorry, the technology that we employ. We are
providing this service more streamlined, more cost efficient, and we

(13:34):
truly are I've mentioned this before and I'm very proud
of it. Arguably one of the best law enforcement agencies
in the country.

Speaker 2 (13:42):
Well, I mean, it certainly sounds that you were absolutely
bucking the status quo through creativity and innovation with streamlining
the costs. And we'll be looking at the numbers right
matching those job descriptions to the salary amounts. Let's talk
about the morale and the transformation of the morale of

(14:05):
your force and implementing the service above self mentality. What
did that look like and what did that transformation entail.

Speaker 5 (14:17):
It was really a complete culture change, and it had
to start at the top.

Speaker 3 (14:22):
So I've been.

Speaker 5 (14:23):
Very well known throughout my career as I promoted that
I was always obviously very pro law enforcement, and I
am pro deputy. I know that the hire I promote
the it doesn't make me any more important. It actually
makes me less important in the actual overall running of

(14:44):
the organization because the number one resource we have in
a law enforcement profession is our line staff, and through
over the years and throughout history and our culture, we
had lost that to where the administration of the organization
thought they they were the most important.

Speaker 3 (15:01):
And that is what.

Speaker 5 (15:02):
Truly causes moral issues within the organization because you get
to a point where the administration is only caring about themselves,
You only cary about your next promotion, on whether or
not you're going to get a better job or more pay,
or whatever the case may be, and you lose sight
of the fact that the most important people in the
organization are the frontline staff. So me taking over, it

(15:27):
was very easy for all of them to see and
realize that it was a different environment. I am not
only extremely pro law enforcement and pro deputy, but I
am also very anti bad deputy and bad law enforcement.
So if you're doing something wrong, I hold you accountable,

(15:48):
and if it's something that you shouldn't be in our
profession anymore, I fire you.

Speaker 3 (15:52):
But at the.

Speaker 5 (15:53):
Same time, if you are out doing your job and
are you truly are living up to that service above
self mentality, I have your back to the end and
I will stand in front of the firing squad. That's
attacking you.

Speaker 3 (16:07):
And we will make sure that we overcome.

Speaker 5 (16:10):
Whatever obstacle it is that's confronting us, and we'll do
it from a leadership position, knowing that I have to
take care of my organization as they're out trying to
provide the service to the community. So it was a
I want to say it was a drastic change from
day one to day two, but then it was a

(16:30):
gradual change over that first year as issues came up
and we had to tackle certain things that were happening
in the press. But in short order, the organization realized
that we were a very united organization in service to
our community and that our deputies were being backed by

(16:51):
their leadership.

Speaker 3 (16:53):
And that's truly what made the difference.

Speaker 5 (16:55):
I made many inroads and repairing bridges and building new bridges,
into relationships with other county agencies, with police municipalities, and
with county law enforcement agencies that surrounded Riverside County that
had been either burnt or never been built.

Speaker 3 (17:14):
In the first place.

Speaker 2 (17:16):
And right now we.

Speaker 5 (17:19):
Live in a completely different law enforcement world than we
did seven years ago.

Speaker 2 (17:24):
Oh that's absolutely true, Chef. So you mentioned that when
you walked into this new role as sheriff morale was down.
Talk about the morale today after your investment in streamlining,
creating innovative opportunities, and really making a department that deputies

(17:44):
can be proud of.

Speaker 5 (17:46):
Yeah, I will emphasized this and put a big example,
an asterist and exclamation point on this, And it was
a conversation that we were having as an administrative team.

Speaker 3 (17:59):
Just a couple of weeks ago. We went from an
organization that was losing.

Speaker 5 (18:03):
Between thirty and forty deputies every two weeks every pay period,
we were losing up to forty.

Speaker 3 (18:09):
Deputies to other organizations.

Speaker 5 (18:13):
Under my leadership and under this different change of culture
and a heightened sense of morale within our agency, we
are one of the only agencies in the country that
does not have a retention problem, does not have a
hiring problem, and we have come to the point where
when I took over, they were In the law enforcement world,

(18:36):
there are a lot of generational continuations of the law
enforcement career, and in our agency, it was very well
known that if your kid was going to go into
law enforcement or a relative was going to go in
law enforcement, you sent them to another organization that was
doing much better than us.

Speaker 3 (18:56):
And we have completely turned that around to where it is.

Speaker 5 (18:59):
There is not academy that goes by that I am
not swearing in an employee that is either is a son,
a daughter, or a relative.

Speaker 3 (19:10):
Of one of our employees.

Speaker 5 (19:12):
And that is a huge testament to where we are today,
because not only is that happening where our kids are
now working for the same agency that their parents are
working for, but we are getting new employees that I
allow to be sworn in by their family members who
work for other agencies. So we have made a complete
one hundred and eighty degree change where other law enforcement

(19:34):
agencies that aren't doing so well are directing their kids
to come work for me and to come work for
our organization. And it makes me very very proud when
that happens, and very humbled that they are allowing us
to have.

Speaker 3 (19:50):
Their kids in this noble profession.

Speaker 2 (19:53):
Absolutely, I mean, as a parent myself to three children,
there is no higher compliment than having a parent refer
their child to an organization for employment to establish a career,
to set roots, and that is to me, the ultimate compliment.
So my hat's off to you, Sheriff. Moving on, let's

(20:14):
talk about what your top priorities are for public safety
today and what you are doing to enhance public safety, Yeah.

Speaker 5 (20:25):
Public safety For us in Riverside County, we're doing everything
we can to be as proactive as possible. We're an
extremely proactive law enforcement agency that tries to combat these
criminals before they're able to commit a crime. So we
use technology. We use a lot of crime analysts to
direct our attention to certain areas or certain demographics, or

(20:48):
whatever the case may be, and we do an extremely
good job of fighting crime. We have our motto is,
if you're going to commit crime, you're going to go
to jail.

Speaker 3 (20:59):
We don't care what the result is.

Speaker 5 (21:01):
We don't care what the judges say, we don't care
what the district attorney decides to do.

Speaker 3 (21:06):
We don't care how much time you eventually get sentenced to.
If you get.

Speaker 5 (21:10):
Back out and you commit another crime, we'll send you
right back in and we'll keep doing that over and
over and over until you quit committing crimes. And we
have found that we are being very successful in lowering
the crime that has been experienced in our communities. Our
residents feel safe in Riverside County. We are bringing more

(21:31):
businesses and more families into Riverside County than any other
county in the state. And the majority of it is
because of the safety concern and the safety factor, and
that is based on the success and the dedication of
the law enforcement agencies in our area, particularly.

Speaker 3 (21:50):
The largest, the Sheriff's Department.

Speaker 5 (21:51):
So we're very successful in that. On a personal level,
and as the sheriff, I am spending a lot of
my time dealing with with absolute horrible laws and legislators
in our state government. And it's we battle on a
daily basis to make sure that horrible bills don't get

(22:13):
passed into law and that good bills that could help
us keep you safe also make it through and these
committees and these and these votes in both houses and eventually.

Speaker 3 (22:24):
Make it to the governor's desk.

Speaker 5 (22:25):
So it's an ongoing battle for Riverside County and with
us at the state level for public safety in general. Uh,
And it's we're being very successful. We're doing very well
on an election standpoint.

Speaker 3 (22:41):
On a on what I'm doing running for governor. There
are there are many.

Speaker 5 (22:46):
Things that are broken in California in our criminal justice system.

Speaker 3 (22:51):
Number one is.

Speaker 5 (22:53):
There is no consequence for committing crime in California, the
consequences have been removed, the laws have been changed. We
have what seems like a very bizarre love affair with
criminals that the Democrat agenda has. They're letting criminals out
of jail in prison early. They're making laws that prevent

(23:13):
us from a consequence of sending someone to jail or
prison when they deserve to be there, and all of
those things have to change. There is a massive agenda
from our governor to close prisons. He's closed five so far,
and the rumor is he plans on closing more before
he leaves us, which couldn't come as a moment too soon.

(23:34):
And as the governor, I will make sure that every
single one of those prisons are reopened and that we
build more prisons if that's the need for the amount
of crime that we have in California. We know that
crime is skyrocketing. It's through the roof or one of
the worst in the country, and it's all because of
a lack of consequence. We have to restore that consequence

(23:56):
to these criminals that are victimizing us. If they belong
in jailer prison, we have to ensure that they go
there and that they serve their time before they get
led out back into our streets, and then we have
to have a proactive law enforcement that when they do
commit another crime, it's right back until they learn their lesson.

Speaker 3 (24:15):
For lack of better terms.

Speaker 2 (24:17):
So Sheriff talk about some of these public policy issues
that have led us to this point in terms of
what I would say, maybe lesser penalties for crimes tell
us what the public policy is from.

Speaker 5 (24:36):
Yeah, there's many things that have happened over the last
twelve years with prisoner alignment, with county jail's being forced
to house prison inmates, which should never happen.

Speaker 3 (24:45):
We have to change that horrible law.

Speaker 5 (24:48):
There are Prop forty seven, which last year, in Prop
thirty six, we did a great job of passing that
the entire state said that they were they want to
It was a referendum to have a better policy on
public safety. Unfortunately, our governor and our legislature do not
believe in the role of the voters, and they are
adamantly defying that vote and that need and that desire

(25:12):
to fix public safety. And they have completely underfunded and
misdirected funds to ensure that we are not successful in
providing a better public safety.

Speaker 3 (25:22):
So as your governor, we will make sure that Prop.

Speaker 5 (25:25):
Thirty six is funded to make sure that we have
the ability to send people to drug rehab, to alcohol rehab,
to get mental health care when they need it. The
homeless situation has nothing to do with being homeless. Every
single one of them had a home that they were
kicked out of because of their drug use, that alcohol abuse,
and their mental illness.

Speaker 3 (25:44):
We absolutely must start being honest and take that money.

Speaker 5 (25:48):
Away from this homeless industrial complex and put it to
where it's going to help the drug abuse, the alcohol abuse,
and the mental health care that needs to happen to
make sure these people are productive members of society again
and we can get them back to their families, their jobs,
and productive members.

Speaker 3 (26:06):
Of the community.

Speaker 5 (26:07):
And that truly is how you fix public safety. That's
my wheelhouse, it's my expertise. I don't have to hire
anybody or ask anybody what we need to do. We
just need to have the leader available and the leader
there to make sure these things are accomplished. And that's
what will happen once I'm elected as the governor.

Speaker 2 (26:28):
And what are your residents saying the people you service
that you're advocating for What do they say when they
see that you're advocating for these enhanced laws and this
policy that is going to make safer communities.

Speaker 5 (26:47):
Well, overwhelmingly, in my county, which is one of the
largest counties in the state, they overwhelmingly want me as
their governor. And at the same time, the testament to
what I've done for Riverside County is they're actually afraid
of me leaving. They're afraid of what's going to happen
when I leave the position that I have, and their
biggest question to me always is how are you going

(27:08):
to ensure that once you win this governor spot, that
law enforcement in rivers County will maintain what you have
built in the direction that you have going. So I
have to be very clear with them that as a leader,
that is the number one goal of a leader is
to make sure that you are molding and you are

(27:29):
making sure that.

Speaker 3 (27:30):
That level of.

Speaker 5 (27:34):
Trust and that level of expertise and leadership is being
built below you, so when you do leave, there are
people that are more than capable of stepping into your
shoes and ensuring that that direction is kept.

Speaker 3 (27:47):
And that's what we've done.

Speaker 2 (27:49):
Our plan for.

Speaker 5 (27:50):
Secession is very well solidified, and we will ensure that
Riversite County maintains it's excellence in law enforcement after I
leave as the governor.

Speaker 2 (28:01):
Wonderful Sheriff, we are coming up on a break for
everybody listening. Event Walker with ABC News and Talks Southern
California Business Report Here today with Sheriff Chad Bianco, born
in nineteen sixty seven at Utah's Hill Air Force Base,
carried the grid of a mining town childhood into a
storied law enforcement career. With thirty one years devoted to

(28:22):
the Riverside County Sheriff's Department, Bianco's stabilized budgets, rebuilt, trust
and champions reform, all guided by faith, family, and a
steadfast sense of duty. One return.

Speaker 5 (28:45):
Hi.

Speaker 6 (28:45):
I'm Dana Radamaker with MGR Property Management. A lot of
people wonder about the value that property management has for
their property. Property management can include all property types, including residential, commercial,
and jo way. It is valuable because property managers are
experienced in what can happen at your property. We're aware liabilities,

(29:06):
We're able to do predictive and preventive maintenance.

Speaker 7 (29:09):
We know what is coming up with the changes in
the weather, the seasons, how old, certain aspects or different
capital projects that your property are. We're able to best
negotiate contract pricing, legalities with your tenants, and anything else
that you may need to ensure that you're getting the
full value.

Speaker 3 (29:25):
Of your property.

Speaker 8 (29:26):
If you're interested in speaking with the representative at MGR
Property Management regarding your property management needs, you can visit
our website at mgrreal Estate dot com, or you can
call our number at area Puote nine zero nine by
BAG one six six zero zero to be connected.

Speaker 7 (29:41):
With the representatives.

Speaker 9 (29:44):
Hi, I'm Sambordino County Sheriff Shannondikas. If you're looking to
start an exciting career in law enforcement and make a
difference in your community, we are hiring dispatchers, nurses, deputies, laterals,
and many more. For a complete list of our jobs
and more information, visit Sheriff's jobs dot com.

Speaker 10 (30:00):
We are the Empire Strikers, the professional sports team of
the Inland Empire. We are a fast, actioned and community
inspired pro indoor soccer team. Our mission is to inspire
the Empire. Home games, community events, watch parties, and youth
camps are all back. Professional indoor soccer is back, join

(30:26):
us and come watch the greatest show on turf at
Toyota Arena or on Twitch. Visit www dot Theempire Strikers
dot com for more and any information.

Speaker 5 (30:40):
Cal State Samernardino is home to the only School of
Entrepreneurship in California with globally raaked degree programs.

Speaker 3 (30:47):
You can start your.

Speaker 5 (30:47):
Journey today to become a successful entrepreneur.

Speaker 11 (30:51):
Learn more and connect at e NTRE dot c SUSB
dot edu.

Speaker 12 (30:58):
The University of the Vern is first in California for
alumni satisfaction. Learn more about accelerated programs offered online and
on campus in Laverne, Irvine, Ontario Burbank or College of
the Canyons. Visit go dot Laverne dot edu. The University
of Laverne go dot Laverne dot edu.

Speaker 11 (31:20):
Ontario International Airport is ONTO a better way to fly
with over sixty five daily NonStop flights to more than
twenty major destinations and the easiest airport experience in Southern California.
Visit fly Onto dot com slash Ontario to learn more
about Ontario International Airport Today.

Speaker 2 (31:46):
Welcome back everyone, youve that walker with ABCNWS and talk
Southern California. Business support here today with Sheriff Chadbianco, born
in nineteen sixty seven at Utah's Hill Air Force Base,
carried the grid of a miningtown childhood into a storied
law enforcement career. With thirty one years devoted to the
Riverside County Sheriff's Department, Bianco stabilized budgets, rebuild trust, and

(32:10):
champion reform, all guided by faith, family, and a steadfast
sense of duty. Thank you again for being with us,
Sheriff Bianco.

Speaker 3 (32:21):
Absolutely, it's my pleasure to be here.

Speaker 2 (32:24):
So prior to the break, we were touching on some
of those policy issues that we're creating the communities we
see today, which is something you are fighting against because
you want to see safer communities as well as your
secession plan as you plan to move forward in your
gurbernatorial race. So let's go back to the behavioral health crisis,

(32:51):
because that was something that was part of your safety
priorities and something that you acknowledged. How does the behavioral
health crisis of a departments daily work.

Speaker 5 (33:03):
It's probably the biggest thing that affects our daily work
that we have to deal with and that we have
to overcome. Roughly, I believe it's not quite two thirds.
It's between fifty two thirds of the inmates that are
in jail are on some type of psychotropic medication.

Speaker 3 (33:22):
And it's it's out of control.

Speaker 5 (33:24):
Our mental health issues are out of control and they're
not being addressed.

Speaker 3 (33:31):
I will tell you I am a huge, huge fan
of Robert Kennedy.

Speaker 5 (33:37):
I think this whole MAHA movement for making America healthy
again has to be implemented in every state, in every community,
and we have to get to the bottom of this
complete control of not only government, but from our pharmaceutical
industry and from our insurance industry in medical care, and

(34:00):
get truly back to the basics of letting doctors take
care of patients how they should be. We absolutely need
to be healthy again, not just medicated, because the more
medication you put into your body, it's not a secret
we are seeing more mental health.

Speaker 3 (34:16):
And I'm a very firm believer in.

Speaker 5 (34:18):
God, and I think the majority of us are. And
we have to admit that God just didn't decide ten
years ago that.

Speaker 3 (34:27):
He was going to make us all have mental health issues.
Something else has caused us to have these issues.

Speaker 5 (34:33):
And there's enough medical and science behind it to say
that it is over medication, over medicated of our kids,
of our babies, of our adults that is causing this issue.

Speaker 3 (34:49):
And there is some things that deal with food.

Speaker 5 (34:52):
The food that we are eating is also causing the
same problems. So as the governor, I know that I
can influence those things. I know that I could bring
those experts. It's into the realm, into our health industry,
into our government portion of health, our health portion of government,
and make sure that we have a healthier California to
rein in these costs of our medical and our medical

(35:16):
and mental health care, because if we don't, we are
going to be spending our entire budgets on healthcare, and
that we should.

Speaker 3 (35:27):
We're healthy enough that we should be doing that ourselves.

Speaker 2 (35:30):
So tell us about some of the ways that you're
working with behavioral health centers to address mental health concerns
in the community. If there are there any medical behavioral
health centers that you're working with.

Speaker 3 (35:43):
Yeah, we do.

Speaker 5 (35:43):
From law enforcement perspective, we have great relationships with our
medical and our mental health particularly our mental health nonprofits
and non government agencies that are doing the work that
we work hand in hand in When we find people
that that are willing to take the help, that willingly

(36:04):
admit that they have a problem and they need help
with We have that relationship built with all of these
other entities that we traffic them right into those organizations
where they immediately have the help that they need, and
it's long standing. We have also implemented a mental health
program within our organization where we have mental health clinicians

(36:27):
that write along with our deputies, and the calls that
we're going to that involve some sort of mental illness
or the requirement of county another county entity for medical
or for mental type of health, they are immediately brought
into the system with that mental health clinician that is

(36:48):
right there with us. So now not only do they
get the immediate help that they need, but we're bringing
in these outside resources immediately that we don't wait two, three,
five days or they fall through the cracks and never
get the help that they need. And that's industry leading
trials that we are going through and excuse me, procedures.

Speaker 3 (37:13):
And programs that we have going on within the community.

Speaker 5 (37:17):
And we're very proud that other places over the last
several years have taken up that same thing.

Speaker 2 (37:24):
And so what are you seeing as a result working
with these behavioral health centers and partners.

Speaker 5 (37:32):
Yet you see the difference in the lack of calls
to the same place over and over and over again.
So it's not like we're drastically cutting down the amount
of calls that we're going to, but we're cutting down
the times that we're going to the same places over
and over. So you identify someone that is in need
of assistance, and you immediately get them the assistance.

Speaker 3 (37:53):
You're not repeatedly going back out.

Speaker 5 (37:55):
They're using resources that could be used for other things
or for other calls for service that we have pending.
And that's truly where we're seeing it is the I
guess technically from a law enforcement perspective, we're always looking
to end recidivism and we're trying to lower those continued
calls for service, and that's what we are seeing is working.

Speaker 2 (38:16):
That is terrific. So you mentioned also the drug epidemic
that is contributing to these behavioral health and mental health issues.
What drugs would you say are most problematic in Riverside
County and how are you addressing the epidemic.

Speaker 3 (38:31):
Yeah, we have to be start being responsible adults.

Speaker 9 (38:34):
Again.

Speaker 5 (38:35):
We have to start being honest about this ridiculous issue
that we have with drugs. California has basically made drug
use legal, and every single year there are dozens of
new bills that are trying to make more drugs legal,
and it's basically just creating a mental health crisis and
a homeless crisis. So the government can just keep telling

(38:58):
us that they're going to it's an industrial complex and
it's fueled by failed government, by these weak drug laws
or non existent drug laws. We have to start admitting
that drugs are a major, major, major problem within our society.
Most crimes have some nexus to drugs. Most of the homeless,

(39:21):
if not all of the homeless, have a huge nexus
to drugs, and we have to start getting a handle
on this. We have to reverse that lacks attitude toward drugs.
We have to make it a crime again to sell drugs,
to possess drugs, to use drugs, and there has to
be a consequence that we force people to get the

(39:42):
help that they need when they're addicted to these illegal substances.

Speaker 3 (39:46):
There is not one drug that is any worse than
the other fentanyl.

Speaker 5 (39:49):
If you have to pick the worst, you have a
best chance of dying from one use of fentanyl than
any other drug, obviously, but we have to start realizing
that marijuana is one of the most dangerous drugs in
society today because the marijuana that we have of today
is about ten times minimum more.

Speaker 3 (40:09):
Potent than when I was a kid.

Speaker 5 (40:12):
And marijuana is so potent today in its THHC levels,
that is it's borderline a psychotic. It is borderline a
drug that is causing immediate psychotic episodes in kids that
are using it, in adults that are using it.

Speaker 3 (40:29):
And it is this massive increase in THCHC that we have.

Speaker 5 (40:34):
Been able to accomplish because of the legalization of marijuana.

Speaker 3 (40:38):
It is the downfall of our society.

Speaker 5 (40:41):
It is causing our homeless issues, it's causing our family issues,
it's causing our drug and health epidemic issues, and we
absolutely need to address it for exactly what it is.

Speaker 2 (40:53):
Sheriff, Do you believe there are enough resources for those
seeking treatment for addiction or our behavioral health issues?

Speaker 3 (41:03):
No, there is not.

Speaker 5 (41:04):
We are wasting our government resources in pet projects in
an industrial complex that we keep calling homelessness that they
say they need more homes, and we're giving these hundreds
of millions of dollars. What we're finding now over the
years has been twenty five billion dollars that cannot be
accounted for. We do not know one thing that they

(41:25):
have done, and all we have done is made.

Speaker 3 (41:27):
Homeless exponentially worse.

Speaker 5 (41:30):
We've ten times the amount of homeless we've had in
years past, and we've ten times the amount of money
that we are dumping and wasting in the process.

Speaker 3 (41:39):
That has to be stopped immediately. On day one.

Speaker 5 (41:42):
I will stop giving the money to these NGOs and
these nonprofits that claim they're providing housing to homeless that
they don't, and we will put that money.

Speaker 3 (41:52):
A fraction of that money. That's all it's going to.

Speaker 5 (41:54):
Take into building the infrastructure and building the capacity to
make sure that we get the drug and alcohol treatment
and the mental health treatment that these people deserve.

Speaker 3 (42:06):
Prop.

Speaker 5 (42:07):
Forty six passing, would have allowed us to force people
back into rehab. We give them the choice, you want
to go to jail in prison, or do you want
to go to the rehab centers we have available available
to you, and that's been taken away from us. We
can't do that now because the governor and the legislature
will not allow that to happen, they will not put

(42:27):
the funding toward those entities.

Speaker 3 (42:29):
That will change on.

Speaker 5 (42:30):
Day one with me as your governor, we will fix
our homeless issue, we will fix our drug issue, and
we will make these people productive in society again.

Speaker 2 (42:40):
Brilliant sheriff switching gears. You mentioned the California Dream, and
the California dream many times is based on having a
thriving business, running a business in California. What kind of
red tape or administrative obstacles to businesses face when trying
to continue a sustainable business in California, And what are

(43:02):
some ways you would propose to overcome this.

Speaker 5 (43:06):
One of the things that will be completely different with
me as the governor of California is.

Speaker 3 (43:11):
Our residents in California will.

Speaker 5 (43:12):
Get nothing but the truth and the honesty of our
actions in state government. And right now, the truth and
honesty of the actions of state government are there doing
everything they possibly can to destroy businesses in California. They
do not want private ownership of businesses, they do not
want small businesses. They want those businesses gone so that

(43:35):
government can control those industries or those entities.

Speaker 3 (43:39):
Or that section of the market.

Speaker 5 (43:41):
And with me as the Governor, I will make sure
that that California dream, that ability to open your own
business is supported and not inconvenienced or put roadblocks up
in front of you because of overregulation and over taxes
that are forcing businesses out of California and preventing businesses

(44:05):
from coming into California will absolutely be removed on day one.
It is a very easy process with a signature from
the governor's hand that I will make happen. On day one,
those regulations will be gone. We will lower the taxes
on businesses, the employee taxes on businesses that burdens some
cost that.

Speaker 3 (44:25):
Makes you not even want to be in business.

Speaker 5 (44:27):
I will ensure as the governor of California that California
is the most business friendly state in our country.

Speaker 3 (44:34):
When you have more businesses, when you have.

Speaker 5 (44:36):
Thriving businesses, when you have bigger businesses, that is what
grows and stimulates the economy to make California better. And
that is how we are going to get back to
California dream.

Speaker 2 (44:47):
And so what would you say to those businesses that
have left California that you're.

Speaker 3 (44:53):
Going to begging to come back, and I want you
to come back.

Speaker 5 (44:57):
The people that leave California because of their businesses to
take it somewhere else. They're leaving because of regulation. They're
leaving because of taxes. They're not leaving because California is
a bad state. They're not leaving because the consumers in
California are somehow bad. They're the greatest consumers in the country.
They're leaving because of regulation, red tape, and taxes. And

(45:19):
I will make sure that those are removed from the equation,
and we make California the greatest state in the country
based on its small businesses and the size.

Speaker 3 (45:29):
Of its large businesses.

Speaker 5 (45:31):
We will incentivize business to come to California. We will
create more jobs in California that will drive our income up.
We will lower the taxes that makes that gap bigger
of what you owe compared to what you bring in,
so you can stimulate the economy by buying the things
that you want and buying the things that you need,
and even buying those luxury items.

Speaker 3 (45:51):
That you can't afford to do.

Speaker 5 (45:53):
California is the only state in the country that punishes
its residents for working harder and achieving more, and I
will take that away as your governor.

Speaker 2 (46:04):
So with that said, Cheff talk about the importance of
public private partnerships. How do public partnerships contribute to addressing
these challenges.

Speaker 5 (46:16):
That's a great that's a great example of how we
can make government more efficient and better. There is this
horrible culture of government that doesn't care about costs or
doesn't care about spending money because it's not their money.
They when they run out, they just take more of
They just increase taxes, and they increase regulations that cause

(46:36):
you to pay more, and then they never have to
cut costs. They never have to do something cheaper. They
never have to worry about saving money or making sure
that something's built on time or built within budget.

Speaker 3 (46:47):
It's a complete change.

Speaker 5 (46:49):
Of culture that we will go through with me as
your governor, and I have done that in Riverside County.
I have changed Riverside County, not just the Sheriff's office,
the entire county to be.

Speaker 3 (47:02):
One that is more.

Speaker 5 (47:05):
Into it, one more that is more focused on this
public private partnership that has the private industry helping government,
helping government not only operate but build bigger and better.
It does it cheaper. Everyone benefits. There are more jobs,
there are more high paying jobs. There is a cheaper

(47:28):
cost of making those jobs, of doing those jobs, and
it's done at a fraction of the time. So everything
about a private partnership with our private public partnership is
beneficial to the public and to government entities. And it's
something in California that is not utilized. I have fixed
that in Riverside County. I will do the exact same

(47:50):
thing in the state.

Speaker 2 (47:52):
So talking about the opportunity to be elected as governor,
tell us what your let's say, top front five priorities
will be on day one.

Speaker 3 (48:06):
Number one. Obviously can't I can't get away from public safety.
It doesn't matter what.

Speaker 5 (48:10):
We do, how much we lower gas or electricity or
cost of living. If we're not safe, we're not safe,
and no one's going to live here. They're going to
go somewhere else. So public safety has to be addressed.

Speaker 3 (48:21):
But at the same.

Speaker 5 (48:21):
Time, we will address the number two issue, or sometimes
the number one issue in California, and.

Speaker 3 (48:27):
That's the cost of living.

Speaker 5 (48:28):
The cost of living is everything based on regulation in
this state.

Speaker 3 (48:33):
The cost of gasoline is so high, the highest.

Speaker 5 (48:36):
In the country because of excessive regulation that will be gone.
The cost gasoline is so high because we don't drill
our own oil, and we don't refine our own gasoline.

Speaker 3 (48:46):
We will be doing both starting on day one with
me as the governor.

Speaker 5 (48:50):
We will not only produce more oil, we will produce
enough oil to sell it and make revenue for our state.

Speaker 3 (48:59):
We rule.

Speaker 5 (49:00):
Not only are we going to be able to lower
the cost of business, the cost of doing business, but
we will lower taxes and we will have more money
in our government based on the business revenue and taxes
that are generated just by pumping more oil by making
our own oil, rather than making the Middle East rich
by buying oil from them. It's an asinine backward situation

(49:26):
that we're in in California, and I am going to
write this ship.

Speaker 3 (49:29):
We will produce our own oil, We will.

Speaker 5 (49:32):
Make our own gasoline, and it not only will give
us the lowest cost of gasoline in the country, but
we will be selling oil to other entities, to other countries,
to other states, and we will generate revenue for our
state that alone will make a substantial reduction in the
cost of living of California. Because everything derives its costs

(49:56):
from transportation, and transportation is gasoline.

Speaker 3 (50:00):
So you take care of that on day one.

Speaker 5 (50:03):
That lowers the cost of gasoline, it lowers the cost
of living. Then you cut the business regulations and the
building regulations that are crippling our industries, and now we
can actually afford to build new homes. We can afford
to build new apartment complexes.

Speaker 3 (50:18):
And then that not only can we afford.

Speaker 5 (50:20):
To build them, but they're built cheaper so we can
actually afford to buy them. And that is what's going
to restore the American dream of home ownership back into
California because it's been taken away from us.

Speaker 2 (50:34):
Well Sheriff, what can you recite County residents and all
of the residents that are listening to us today do
to support your efforts and improve that community.

Speaker 5 (50:47):
We can all get behind Chad Bianco to make sure
that he is the next governor of California.

Speaker 3 (50:54):
If you want a continuation of the same, or if.

Speaker 5 (50:57):
You believe that all of the politicians that have never
held office before, or the ones that have held office
and have failed us in their promises and lied to
us throughout their career, then vote.

Speaker 3 (51:12):
For somebody else besides me.

Speaker 5 (51:14):
If you look at me on this ballot, I will
be the only one with a resume that qualifies to
be the governor of California.

Speaker 3 (51:22):
I will be the only elected the currently elected official.

Speaker 5 (51:26):
I will be the only person on this ballot who
has ever been responsible for spending taxpayer money. My budget
is one point three billion dollars a year in taxpayer
money that I finish in the black every single year.

Speaker 3 (51:42):
I am going to take that to California.

Speaker 5 (51:44):
The rest of the people that are running for governor
have never held office.

Speaker 3 (51:49):
They've never had to be efficient with government before.

Speaker 5 (51:51):
They've never had to change government or even working government before,
and they have never had to fiscally be responsible for
spending tax airmeney and be held accountable to our voters
and to our residents. I am the only one that
fits that bill on the only one that has that
on the resume, and I truly do need everyone in
this state to realize I have dedicated thirty two years

(52:15):
of impeccable public service to our community that is irrefutable,
and I am willing to step into this position, make
the sacrifices, the hard decisions, give my leadership the ability
to ensure that California government is working for its residents

(52:35):
instead of our residents working to make government bigger and better.
Government is supposed to make our lives bigger and better,
not the other way around. And me as your governor,
absolutely ensures it's going to happen.

Speaker 3 (52:48):
And you already have the proof.

Speaker 5 (52:50):
You just need to look at the last seven years
of what I've done after you elected me in this position.

Speaker 2 (52:56):
Absolutely, and so faith and family are such a big
part of pillars in your life and your values and
make you who you are. What does your family say?
Tell us your family's feedback as you take this journey
on this governatorial race to become the next governor of

(53:17):
the state of California.

Speaker 5 (53:20):
They absolutely made the final decision of me running for governor.
This was it's easy for me to say I'm going
to run, But the final decision was me going to
my kids and me going to my wife and asking
them if it was okay that I ran, and if
they were going to be behind me, and if they
were going to be ready for the lies and the

(53:42):
ugliness that comes along with public service and with a campaign.

Speaker 3 (53:47):
And it was a resounding yes.

Speaker 5 (53:51):
Them knowing who I am, them living with me their
entire lives, and being raised by me and my wife,
they know that everything that I say I'm going to do.
They know that there is no one more competitive than
I am. And they know that if I say something's.

Speaker 3 (54:08):
Going to happen, I'm going to do everything I can
to ensure that it happens.

Speaker 5 (54:12):
And they know that their small sacrifice for the next
year and a half of this campaign is going to
be exactly what the state of California needs to get
better so they can achieve that California dream.

Speaker 3 (54:23):
They don't want to leave their homes here.

Speaker 2 (54:25):
And so, Sheriff Bianco, how can people connect with you,
learn more about your campaign or support your efforts.

Speaker 5 (54:33):
Absolutely. Bianco for Governor. Dot com is the website. You
can find a thirty thousand foot level of our policies,
what we're going to do for the state.

Speaker 3 (54:42):
You can sign up to volunteer, You can sign up
to donate.

Speaker 5 (54:44):
We have a merchandise page that is just I mean,
we're running out of stock every single day that we're
having to restock. You can buy merchandise from the store
that directly helps the campaign. It's going to take a
lot of money to run this campaign, so I do
need your donations.

Speaker 3 (54:59):
You can sign up to volunteer to help.

Speaker 5 (55:02):
In a physical way with the campaign, and certainly you
can follow me on all of the social media platforms
Shriff Chad Bianco on all of the major social media platforms,
share all of the information that I have, share.

Speaker 3 (55:14):
My posts, like the pages. We're going to make this
happen from a very ground roots effort.

Speaker 5 (55:20):
Currently, I definitely am the front runner in this campaign.
I've raised more money than nearly all only one person
raised more money than I did.

Speaker 3 (55:30):
But the grassroots effort that we have going, I.

Speaker 5 (55:33):
Have more than double of the donors than my nearest competitor,
So that's showing us that this movement is massive. We're
raising a ton of money from a ton of people,
more so than everyone else. And I just encourage everyone
to jump on board. Make sure you get on our train,
help us keep these wheels going, and we are going
to take back our state.

Speaker 2 (55:54):
Well you heard it here everyone, Sheriff Chad Bianco. Sheriff,
thank you so much and good luck on your gubernatorial race.
And I hope to follow up and track how everything's
going along.

Speaker 3 (56:08):
Absolutely sounds good. I can't wait.

Speaker 2 (56:11):
Wonderful all right for everybody listening, don't get to find
us on Facebook, YouTube, LinkedIn, and Instagram, check us out
on SCBR talk dot com. Don't miss my conversation with
doctor Frank Miranda So, superintendent of Colton Joint Unified School
District since twenty twenty. He's a transformative leader with over
twenty one years of educational leadership, as well as Israel

(56:34):
foind This who is a visionary leader who's twenty six
year career spans public relations, marketing, and community development. Next week,
we will have Sheriff Shannondikas of the San Manadino County
Sheriff's Department, serving the largest geographical county in the nation
with over two point one million residents, with eight county

(56:55):
and fourteen contract patrol stations and over forty two hundred employees,
ensuring safety for the communities it serves. The department includes
fifteen hundred and fifty two volunteers and operates with an
annual budget of over eight hundred million dollars. You do
not want to lose it. We will see you all
next week.